Dinner's Ready
by theDarkestZero
Summary: Has anyone ever wondered what was going on on the Islands while Sora, Riku, and Kairi were away throughout the events of Kingdom Hearts, Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts II, and Dream Drop Distance? Here you find Sora's mother and a few other residents of the islands and their struggle while the group goes missing one particular day.


**Has anyone ever wondered what was going on on the Islands while Sora, Riku, and Kairi were away throughout the events of Kingdom Hearts, Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts II, and Dream Drop Distance? Here you find Sora's mother and a few other residents of the islands and their struggle while the group goes missing one particular day.**

 **.**

"Sora, dinner's ready!" Sora's mother, Evangeline Skye, called out to her fourteen-year-old son. "Come on down! Sora?" Evangeline was a short, "big-boned" woman who sported shoulder-length brown hair and deep blue eyes.

She wasn't sure how long her son had been upstairs in his room. She had finally cooked dinner. The smell of fried chicken and fresh Paoupu juice filled the air. Evangeline set the table for two. Before Sora had been born, his father, her boyfriend at the time, Dara, had left them. It's been just the two of them ever since. She figured Sora was the only special someone she needed in her life. "Don't make me come up there!"

Nobody came downstairs. The only thing to be heard was the wind whistling throughout the house. Where was the draft coming from? She took a sip of her glass of juice, tasting the bitter-sweet flavor squeeze straight from the delectable fruit. Placing her glass down, she stepped away from the table, making her way upstairs. Before she could put her foot down on the first step, she heard a huge crack of lightning, followed by the sensation that the entire ground around her was shaking.

Another tremor was sent through the house, almost making her trip and fall. She heard glass break behind her, following by the loud "whoosh" of wind that slammed into the table, causing the wood to shatter and the plates and glasses of juice to be thrown to the floor. After the next tremor, Evangeline had really fallen. Her head hit the bottom step.

She was too dazed to do anything. She lay at the bottom of the steps, on her back, staring up at the ceiling that was being ripped to shreds by some unseen force. Finally she could call out, "Sora!" Sora had still yet to come down to safety. Well, Evangeline was unsure of which part of the house was "safe". Not many people on the islands had storm cellars. In fact, they never had any major storms before either.

She swore she only blinked. It was only a second—no, shorter than a second. But whenever she next opened her eyes, her entire ceiling was gone, revealing the swirling black sky of darkness looming above her. _What was this!?_ Evangeline screamed. There was nothing else to do. The force of the wind kept her down. It was futile. It was then that a scary thought dawned on her. The ceiling was gone…which meant the entire second floor had been destroyed.

In one anguished cry she yelled out, **_"SORA!"_** And then everything went black.

…

What broke the silence around her were sirens. Lazily opening her eyes she saw flashes of red and blue bouncing around the bits and pieces of destruction all around her. Evangeline could barely move. Her entire body felt as though a building had crushed her, and for all she knew, it had. She saw a blue sky above her, not a cloud in sight. She heard shouts of anger, of sadness, and of relief. Some people had obviously survived the storm while others…hadn't.

She immediately sat up as quick as lightning, screaming out as loud as she could, "Sora!" She immediately felt a wave of nausea wash over her, and the next thing she knew, her head had slammed back into the ground. Opening her eyes once more, she saw a friendly face hovering above her. Tidus Watanabe. "Tidus?" was all she could say. The young boy, the age of her own son, had grabbed hold of her hand and helped the poor woman up.

"Miss Skye, are you alright?" Tidus asked. Evangeline shook her head, trying to shake away a painful headache. Taking one good look at Tidus showed her that he had barely made it out of the storm. His face, arms, and legs were covered in dried blood, one eye swollen shut from being slammed into by something.

"I think I am," Evangeline said, attempting to stand up straight. Her body felt as if its insides were on fire. She saw blood stream past her eye. She felt her forehead, confirming her suspicion. She had been knocked pretty hard and was bleeding. "Tidus…are Wakka and Selphie okay?" Tidus nodded, and he pointed off in another direction to show that Wakka and Selphie were with their parents a few yards away.

"Miss Skye…" Tidus said, his voice suddenly faltering. "Where's Sora?"

Evangeline suddenly went on alert, darting her eyes to each and every house on the street. Several were completely destroyed while others seemed to not have as much damage. Debris covered the streets. Vehicles were everywhere—in the road, on the lawns, on top of houses, in trees. Police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks swarmed the entire street and probably the rest of the island. Evangeline's house was nothing but a few pieces of floorboards and an overturned roof quite a ways away. She didn't see Sora anywhere. Tidus walked away, not wanting to have to hear any bad news.

Then she heard her name being called. "Evangeline! Evangeline! Are you okay?" Scurrying over to her from her own house a few houses down was Riku's mother, Katerina Yami. She was a thin woman with long silver hair that cascaded over her shoulders. She looked older than she actually was. Her skin was very pale. The outfits she always wore looked like she belonged to royalty. She had a huge gash in her shoulder. Things had not gone so well at her place. "Have you seen Riku?"

Evangeline was too shocked to speak. She only had one thing on her mind. _Sora_. She was hoping to God that Sora had somehow managed to sneak out of the house without her knowing, and then somehow managed to avoid the oncoming storm.

Another voice, this one deep and gruff, called out, "Ah, Evangeline! Katerina! Glad I could find you!" Approaching them was the famous mayor of the Destiny Islands, Cyrus Wentworth. He was a short and stocky man with dark brown hair and a small mustache. He hugged the two in greeting. "Some storm. I had never seen anything like it." He had immediately changed the topic when he quickly said, "Kairi wasn't with me when the storm ended. I fear something has happened."

This snapped Evangeline awake. All three of them—Sora, Riku, and Kairi—were gone. Neither of their parents could find them. Evangeline almost felt relived. This news pretty much told her that the three were most likely together. She was hoping they'd protected one another and braved the story. Finally out of her shock she said, "Our kids are gone. They're probably together. We need to have them sweep the entire island to find them."

Katerina nodded in agreement and said, "Riku always told me when he was going out. This time he just left without saying anything. I don't understand it."

Cyrus put his hands on their shoulders and said, "Kairi and I had an argument and she just stormed off. She kept saying something about coming from another world. What a preposterous thing to say. Other worlds…whoever came up with that theory is screwed in the head. Evangeline, your son was always the optimist; maybe he filled her head with all that nonsense."

"Are you seriously talking about my son like that, Mr. Mayor?" Evangeline snapped at Kairi's adoptive father. Her face was turning red with anger. "Sora is a very special boy. I will not let you say bad things about him."

"Can you both just shut it?" Katerina interrupted. "We're going to find them. But the arguing needs to stop."

Selphie Tilmitt ran away from her parents and towards Sora, Riku, and Kairi's parents. She quickly said, "Wakka and Tidus went to the docks! Their boats are all gone. Kairi, Riku, and Sora are on the smaller island. We're sure of it."

Cyrus's face lit up as he grabbed his cellphone and dialed a number. "I need you to send a chopper over that smaller island to the main island's south. Scan the surrounding ocean as well as the entire island for my daughter, Sora Skye, and Riku Yami. Thank you." He hung up his phone and pocketed it, saying, "No need to worry. We'll find them."

…

Evangeline was hoping that it would either be Cyrus or Katerina delivering the news that night. When she heard a knock at her hotel door at eleven at night she jumped right off of the couch and dashed to the door, swinging it open and foolishly spreading her arms wide to embrace her son that never even showed up. Instead, standing there was a police officer. Feeling like an idiot, Evangeline dropped her arms to her sides.

In a deep voice the officer said, "I am sorry, Evangeline Skye. Your son was never found anywhere on the main island or the smaller island. But we are doing everything we can to find him. Tomorrow we will do everything we can to scan the ocean and recover a body." _Recover a body_. This caused Evangeline to begin hyperventilating. "Are you alright, Miss Skye?"

The officer was immediately pushed to the side by Katerina who marched right into the house and wrapped her arms around Evangeline. "I think you should go, Officer Marsh. I'll take it from here." The officer nodded and walked back towards the elevator. Katerina closed the door and held Evangeline in her arms. "I promise you, someday soon, we will find the kids. I give you my word."

"Tomorrow," Evangeline said through heavy sighs, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I want you to come with me to the small island. We haven't been there since I was a kid and you were, well, my babysitter at the time."

The two ladies smiled at the memory. Evangeline was rather young, having Sora when she was only thirteen, making her twenty-seven now. Katerina was ten years older than her, and had babysat her when she was six. As the two reminisced, Katerina said, "I'd love that. Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow."

…

It was the next day. Evangeline had practically cried herself to sleep in Katerina's arms. Katerina hadn't realized she'd spent the night until she woke up with her arms around Evangeline on the tiny bed. It should have been uncomfortable, but it wasn't. Evangeline had been stirring in her sleep, which was what woke Katerina up. After quickly brushing her messy hair, Katerina opened the door, letting sunlight bathe them. It almost made Evangeline smile.

Evangeline kept thinking, wondering how Katerina could remain so calm after this whole ordeal. She and Riku were always so brave. Evangeline wished she could be as brave as them. The two got dressed into outfits that were perfect for the summer sun, and they headed to the docks where they found a boat and paddled straight to the small island.

Once there, the two headed to the opening of the Secret Place. "I forgot this was here," Evangeline muttered softly, running a hand along the base of the tree that held the opening. She remembered how Katerina would always take her to this cave to inspect the drawings along the walls that seemed to be there before they were even born. Evangeline took a cautious step into the cave. "Come on, Kat." Katerina chuckled. She hadn't heard that nickname in a while.

And so the two stepped into the Secret Place, finding their way to the room that held all of the drawings. The two stared in awe. There were even _more_ drawings than they remembered! Evangeline's eyes fell upon once drawing in particular. It was of Sora and Kairi. Tears welled up in her eyes. She motioned for Katerina to take a look, and she smiled at the drawing.

"Wherever they are," Katerina said, putting an arm around her friend. "They're together. That's all that matters." And Evangeline cried into Katerina's shoulder, letting out the sadness that her baby boy wasn't here by her side. "Hey, hey, dry those eyes." Katerina wiped away Evangeline's tears with a soothing finger.

Suddenly a thought occurred to Evangeline. She wasn't sure why this thought popped into her head at that moment, but it did. "The raft!" she shouted suddenly, making Katerina jup away from her in surprise.

"Eva, honey, never do that again," Katerina said, getting her heart rate under control from the sudden shout. "Now…the raft?"

"Remember when the boys told us about a raft they were trying to build?" Evangeline asked. Katerina nodded in response. "I might sound crazy, but what if they set out to sea on that raft? They may have gotten somewhere and away from the storm! They're on that raft. It's the only possible option."

"And what if they're not?"

"What kind of a question is that?"

Katerina bit her lower lip. Putting a comforting hand on Evangeline's shoulder she told her, "As much as I hope that they are on that raft, safe and sound…we can't get our hopes up. If it turns out they're not on any raft…if they ever found the…bodies…" Katerina was finding it harder to speak now. "Eva, sorry. I really hope they're on the raft. Let's tell Cyrus this."

Evangeline smile. She hoped that her baby was safe. His friends would protect him, just as he'd protect his friends. That's the kind of person he was…no, the person he is. Evangeline had to get rid of every negative thought. After a few more minutes of talking, she and Katerina went to the mayor's house on the main island.

…

"What raft?" Cyrus asked after allowing Evangeline and Katerina into his home. Evangeline had jumped by Cyrus's tone. Katerina stared the man down as if he were the devil. "Kairi never spoke of such things. If she _is_ on the raft, one of your delinquent sons is the reason she was so easily fooled into going on their little 'quest'."

"Mind saying that again?" Katerina yelled defensively.

"Why wouldn't my own daughter tell me about a raft she was planning on going on? The only possible explanation for her not telling me is because one of your children, or both, told her not to." Cyrus turned his back on the two women, crossing his arms in front of him in anger.

"Or maybe it's because you never listen to a thing she has to say," Evangeline snapped at him. She saw him jump a little. She had hit a nerve. "And she isn't your daughter."

Cyrus immediately whipped around back at them, slamming his fist into the wall to the side of him, sending wooden splinters falling to the ground. "I adopted her; therefore she is my daughter now. She used to be a good listener but I fear Sora and Riku have corrupted her. All this talk of other worlds…it's sickening. We found her on the shore of an island. She didn't just fall out of outer space. Now leave this residence at once before I have you two arrested."

Evangeline's face got red with anger, and it took all of Katerina's power to hold her back from throwing a few punches. Granted, Katerina wanted to start punching him herself, but that wouldn't have made anything any better. Katerina, trying to remain calm, pushed Evangeline out the doorway, making sure to slam it on her way out. Evangeline heard Cyrus curse from inside, followed by the smashing of something glass.

The two had gone to Katerina's house, where the two sat down at the table for a cup of tea. The sun had begun to set. Katerina kept telling Evangeline over and over again that everything will be alright. Evangeline wanted to believe…no, she did believe…but that didn't stop her from crying over not being able to hug and kiss Sora good morning or good night every day.

While Katerina's husband was off on a job on some distant island, Evangeline decided to move out of her cramped hotel room and into Katerina's home. Katerina was happy to allow a friend to stay for however long it took.

Evangeline fell asleep as Katerina stayed up to watch television. While she slept, a smile formed on Evangeline's face. She was dreaming of Sora.

…

It was about a month after that terrible storm. Missing person posters were all over the island, showing pictures of Sora, Riku, and Kairi. They had been missing ever since the storm. Evangeline had made herself right at home with Katerina. On this particular day, a heavy knocking rattled Katerina's front door. Evangeline woke up on the couch, standing up steadily and making her way to the front door. She heard Katerina behind her, just coming out of the bathroom.

Evangeline opened the door and to her dismay, Mayor Cyrus stood there. Evangeline wanted to destroy him. He had insulted not only her own son but Katerina's as well. This intense hatred of the man completely overtook her. Katerina put a soothing hand on her shoulder. It didn't work all that much. But what then shocked Evangeline and Katerina was that Cyrus had a smile on his face. It looked like he'd been crying.

"Is everything all right?" Evangeline asked, suddenly dropping her anger.

"More than all right," Cyrus said, wiping his eyes. His face was red, his eyes were soaked, and his smile was as wide as can be. "How about I let her answer for me." He stepped into the house, revealing someone standing behind him.

Her auburn hair flew about in the warm breeze outside. Her eyes sparkled brightly. She ran into the house and wrapped her arms around Evangeline and Katerina. They gasped in surprise at her sudden appearance, and returned the hug. Evangeline almost broke down into tears. "Kairi…it's you!" Evangeline said, wiping her eyes. "Where's…where's Sora?"

"And Riku?" Katerina asked.

Cyrus and Kairi's smiles were wiped almost instantly. Evangeline felt her heart sink. She felt it shatter. Every bit of emotion she'd been holding back since the accident had broken through the huge dam inside her, letting a flood of emotion out of her. She fell to her knees and sobbed onto the floor, screaming out Sora's name. Katerina tried to comfort her but to no avail. She looked visibly shaken as well, but she was nowhere near as bad as her friend.

Kairi began to cry herself, saying, "Miss Skye…Miss Yami…I'm so sorry. They…they never came back with me. I'm sorry…" She hugged the ladies once more, and she and her adoptive father helped the fallen Evangeline to her feet. Kairi narrowed her eyes, a trait Evangeline would always do if she were hiding something. She didn't press Kairi for answers. She was too heartbroken.

"I've gotta go home now," Kairi said, lowering her head, and without another word she stepped out of the house.

"Poor girl," Katerina said, wiping her eyes. "Losing two of her best friends like that...wait. She did say that they didn't return with her. If Kairi's back, that means the boys are still alive. This is great news! We finally have the answer we've been waiting for!"

"I'll leave you two alone now," Cyrus said, making his way towards the exit. "I really do hope Sora and Riku return." After leaving, Cyrus closed the door, leaving Evangeline and Katerina alone.

…

Two weeks passed, and there was still no sign of Riku. Katerina still had hope that her son would want to return. From what Evangeline knew of Riku, the boy was headstrong. He was adventurous. He was the type of person who would go and see the world…or worlds. His personality and charm made Evangeline want a son all the more. She and Katerina sat on the couch in the living room of Katerina's house, watching some random television show.

"Must be hard," Evangeline said, muting the television so Katerina could hear her better. "I'm sorry for bringing it up every day, but…I'm sorry. For Riku. For you. Having a son must be so difficult if he's not around. He's almost like a son to me."

"I understand," Katerina said, applying some chapstick to her dried lips. "I don't care how many times you bring up Riku's disappearance. I love to hear his name, to talk about him. I'm just glad you were willing to come here to fill the void."

"I'm glad you let me stay when my house was destroyed," Evangeline replied. "I would still be stuck in that cheap hotel room."

The two cooked up some popcorn and watched a movie that started playing. While Katerina got up to retrieve the popcorn, Evangeline was left to think. Something was missing. Something important. But she couldn't remember what it was. Her eyes zeroed in on the letter _ **S**_ in the title of the movie. For some reason that one letter stuck out to her. She couldn't figure out why.

…

A year had passed. A whole year. Everyone had given up hope in the "Missing Riku" case. Except for Katerina, who remained hopeful that her son would return. Evangeline would have stayed longer with her, but she finally had a hope of her own. Though she never stayed in it too long. She'd always go visit Katerina and the two would go out together. Or she'd go check in on Kairi and see how she was doing. Kairi was turning into quite the young lady.

Evangeline paced back and forth throughout her new house that the mayor had paid for her. Thoughts kept running through her mind. She was still glad that Kairi was back and still very upset over Riku never returning. But something else was missing. Something important. Hadn't Riku and Kairi always had _another_ friend. Where was he or she? Was she missing too? Why wasn't anyone searching for him or her? Katerina wasn't sure wat Evangeline was talking about whe n she mentioned the third person.

Another thought racing through her mind was **_S_**. The letter **_S_** **.** It was popping up everywhere. In posters, in books, in movies and television shows…she even thought that she heard a snake saying "Sssssss….." in her back yard. She was beginning to go insane.

She picked up a picture frame that was on her desk. It was a group photo. Evangeline stood on the very left. To her right were Kairi and Riku, with Katerina and Cyrus on their side. The kids had decided on that group photo. Evangeline smiled, then frowned again. _Something was missing_. Almost like magic, fading into view was another person in between Kairi and Riku. Evangeline could not believe her eyes. A name popped into her head.

She instantly said, "Sora…"

…

Sora and Riku were still missing. The investigation was dead, but Evangeline and Katerina kept hoping that the two boys would return. Kairi was equally, if not more, optimistic that her friends would be back. Kairi had vanished only a few days ago. Nobody knew where she went. Evangeline feared she had gone back to find the other two. She never heard the end of it from the mayor.

One day a slow knocking came at her door. Evangeline was hesitant to answer it. A year without her son was too much to bear. A huge weight hung over her shoulders. She walked to the door slowly. She was tired. She had trouble keeping her eyes open. If it were Katerina, she would probably let her in. If it were anyone else, she'd shoo them away so she could go back to hiding under the covers on her bed. No matter how much time went on, not having Sora around was still the most painful thing in the world.

She opened the door.

Staring back at her was none other than Sora.

At first Evangeline sighed, thinking that she was dreaming. And then finally, she realized. Tears began welling up in her eyes. The weight on her shoulders felt like they had just been yanked off by the gods. After a year of waiting…here he was. She let her emotion out. She jumped out of the doorway and grabbed hold of her boy, grabbing a fistful of spikey brown hair as she held him tighter. Sora returned the hug, trying not to shed a tear after seeing his mother for the first time since the storm.

When they broke apart, she noticed how much older and mature her little Sora was. Sora broke the silence by saying, "I'm…back, with Riku and Kairi, too." Evangeline kissed Sora's forehead and refused to let go of him again. Evangeline said in a sad voice, "Why couldn't you…just come home for dinner?" That once sentence caused her and Sora to both explode in laughter.

…

Evangeline couldn't believe what she was hearing. Katerina was there as well, just as confused. The two sat down on the couch as Sora and Riku stood before them, pacing back and forth after saying something very important. Sora repeated in a slow voice, "Riku and I have to do something very important. We can't begin to explain, but trust me, we're going to return."

"We just got you back," Katerina said, holding onto Riku's hand, not wanting him to walk away from her. "What can be so important that you have to leave home?"

"We're adults, Mom," Riku said, putting on the most mature voice he could muster. They were just teenagers who shouldn't even be leaving home to begin with. It was all too much to handle. "We'll be back in a few days. I promise. We promise. Right, Sora?" Sora nodded. Riku pushed his long bangs out of his eyes. "Right after I get myself a haircut." Riku took his hand away from his mother's. "I'll be back. Don't worry." Riku started for the door.

Evangeline took Sora into her arms and squeezed him tight. "I don't want you to go," she said through tears. "But you're growing into a fine young man. I have to belief you'll keep true to your word. Be back in a few days, alright?" She wiped her eyes and released her son. Sora grinned and nodded, hugging his mother one last time before heading towards the doorway and Riku.

Evangeline hoped that her baby would be alright. Katerina held onto Evangeline's hand as their two children walked right through the doorway on their way to some new journey.

…

Sora and Riku had been gone a few nights now, and at some point, Kairi had vanished as well. Mayor Cyrus paced back and forth in his house, unsure of what to do with that girl. Why would she keep leaving him like that? Evangeline and Katerina were invited over to his house for a dinner his butler had cooked up.

According to Cyrus, he wanted to make amends with his and the other parents' relationship. If they're kids were going to stay best friends, then that would mean Cyrus would have to be friends with Evangeline and Katerina. They had been at the house—it was more like a mansion, actually—for a few hours now. The three watched television, played gulf in the back yard, relaxed by the pool.

And then the door to house opened up, and Kairi stepped in. She was immediately caught in a bear hug by her father. Sora and Riku came in next, giving their mothers a hug as well. It was a happy reunion. The six of them ate until they were full. All was going good when Sora said, "Mom, Mrs. Yami, Mr. Wentworth…take a seat please." The three sat down on the couch in the living room as their children stood in front of them.

Sora looked nervous. He fidgeted back and forth on his toes, he darted his eyes back and forth, and Evangeline could almost see sweat dripping down his face. All traits he'd donned from his mother, but he'd never been nervous enough to show them. Whatever was on his mind was huge. Riku started by saying, "You three thought that we left on the raft the night of the storm. That was the plan, but…something else happened."

"You mean you three weren't on the raft?" Cyrus yelled out. "Then where in blazes were ya'll?"

Kairi lowered her head. "We wanted to see what else was out there. The raft was the only thing that could take us out there…until some things happened." They were all super nervous, and stalling what they had to say for as long as possible.

"We're listening," Katerina replied.

"It's okay," Evangeline said. She continued, "We're here for you three."

Sora looked to Riku and Kairi, and the two of them nodded. Sora cracked a small smile and said, "We're ready to tell you _everything_." With a deep sigh he continued, "Starting with this."

And suddenly, appearing in the hands of Sora, Riku, and Kairi, were their respective Keyblades.

 **.**

 **Did you enjoy this? I really liked writing this…gave me a chance to explore characters that were never really touched upon. So…I hope you enjoyed. Leave a review cuz it helps me out and makes me so gosh darn happy. Also, I hope their parents' names don't bother you; I was having trouble finding good Japanese or Japanese sounding names that weren't overused, but it wasn't working so I found these names. Anyway…hope you liked! Review! :)**


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